The late nineties represented a transitional period in the British music scene. Britpop had largely fizzled out, killed off by the disappointment of Oasis’s Be Here Now and Radiohead’s fantastically dark, dystopic OK Computer. Pop music was flourishing, led by the Spice Girls, while chart music was overflowing with a disturbing amount of novelty records (Yes, I’m talking about the Teletubbies). Electronic music had received something of a breakthrough, as big beat pioneers the Chemical Brothers and the Prodigy had received critical acclaim and some minor chart success. But downtempo music was primarily confined to the UK’s basement; Portishead and Massive Attack stuck their head above the parapet, but both were bracketed with trip-hop. At the time, electronic music in the UK was very much about thumping bass lines that beat you into submission. And then, in 1998, an obscure French duo produced a piece of glorious chill-out music, bringing downtempo into the mainstream.
Air weren’t the first French duo to successfully cross the channel, as Daft Punk’s Homework had infiltrated the British charts the previous year. But as futuristic as it sounded, Daft Punk’s excellent blend of house, techno, and disco dovetailed nicely with the popular UK electronic music scene at the time. But despite their geographical proximity (at one point, both lived on the same street in Paris), Air’s approach was very different. Their music borrowed from 70s psychedelia and prog-rock rather than disco, influenced by bands like Pink Floyd and Can. Daft Punk’s music was designed to get you dancing; Air’s was crafted to get you reclining. Air is a backronym for Amour, Imagination, and Rêve (love, imagination, and dream), a near-perfect summarisation of the music they produce.
Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel first met at the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Versailles, France’s leading architectural school. Godin was studying architecture, while Dunckel, a classically trained pianist, studied maths. Godin and Dunckel initially played in a band called Orange before Godin started Air as a solo project. In 1995, Godin was approached by a friend to provide a song for a compilation to be released by Source, a small French independent label. He released ‘Modular Mix’, a tribute to renowned Swiss-French modern architecture pioneer Le Corbusier.
Godin was pessimistic in terms of achieving any success musically. Disenchanted with the French music scene at the time, he believed that he wouldn’t achieve anything as his taste and style differed from what was being played on the French airwaves. Nonetheless, Godin persuaded Dunckel to join him, and in 1997 they released their first EP, Premiers Symptômes, comprised of singles the duo had previously released. The EP was well received, providing an alternative to the more austere German techno that populated Europe at the time. Upon the EP’s release, the duo were already recording their debut LP, the groundbreaking Moon Safari.
Godin and Dunckel were struggling financially at the time and needed Moon Safari to succeed commercially, especially Dunckel, who had a young son to support. The duo’s financial limitations limited what they could afford in terms of gear; they relied heavily on analogue synths from the 70s, such as the Minimoog and the Korg MS-20. Godin used a 1960s Höfner bass (famously used by Paul McCartney), adding to the retro feel. The duo’s innovative use of synthesisers and percussion was supplemented by a string section recorded at Abbey Road. Godin’s neighbour, American Beth Hirsch, was drafted in to provide vocals on the tracks ‘All I Need’ and ‘You Make It Easy’. The duo’s resourcefulness was deeply impressive, and thankfully the record was the commercial smash they needed.
Despite their retro production, Air created something stunningly futuristic and gorgeously intoxicating. It’s a beautifully laid-back record, grabbing you by the shoulders and forcing you into a comfy chair, with a massage thrown in for good measure. It’s lounge music designed for space, taking 70’s psychedelia and throwing it through a time machine. There’s a wry sensuality throughout, seductive but in a classy manner; even the smash hit ‘Sexy Boy’ isn’t as overt as it sounds. It’s an album that feels like a wonderful out-of-body experience.
‘La femme d’argent’ provides a hypnotic opening, a glorious psychedelic wave of relaxation. The bassline is warm and melodic, gently curling around you while the spacey synths transport you to another planet. The distorted sound of the Rhodes piano and the warped organ gives the track a romantic edge. It’s beautifully arranged, with instruments dancing together in perfect harmony. The percussion is particularly interesting, drifting from the sound of the bongos at the start to these handclaps at the end, sustaining this mesmerising rhythm. ‘Sexy Boy’ is simply magnificent; the track’s slinky, seductive bassline was created by Godin plugging his bass into a guitar amp. The bass is powerful but not overwhelming, thundering into action during the chorus. The androgynous vocals, created using a vocoder, give the song a futuristic sound. ‘All I Need’ takes you from sexy to tender, with Beth Hirsch providing some gorgeous vocals. She has a similar ability to Portishead’s Beth Gibbons in bringing songs to life emotionally.
‘Kelly Watch The Stars’ brings some funky energy that isn’t dissimilar to their Parisian neighbours, Daft Punk. It’s infectiously groovy, driven by its Casiotone sound and wobbling synths, with the slight tinkle of the glockenspiel in the background. It’s pure psychedelic, spacey heaven. ‘Talisman’ has a lovely, languid build-up and features another glorious bass line, but the beautiful string section elevates the whole track to another level. ‘Remember’ similarly benefits from its floating string section, which provides this gloriously uplifting sensation. The entire track feels like a giant trip, with its ghostly synths contrasting with the sunshine-dripping strings. ‘You Make It Easy’ is a hazy, atmospheric number driven by its gentle percussion. Beth Hirsch again provides some excellent vocals, giving the song a mournful energy.
‘Ce matin là’ feels like a romantic sunset walk by the beach, with its feather-light strings and the romantic sound of the tuba combining with Godin’s acoustic guitar beautifully. It’s the album’s most cinematic moment, teasing at the duo’s move into composing soundtracks. ‘New Star In The Sky’ was partially influenced by Dunckel’s interest in astrophysics, eventually morphing into this spacey lullaby written for his newborn child. The closing track, ‘Le voyage de Pénélope’, is a kind-of space jazz piece, a distorted form of psychedelia, full of these woozy, manipulated synths.
Moon Safari is a splendid, laid-back affair, dreamy and ethereal, oozing with this seductive, accessible groove. It’s impressive how the duo conveyed so much emotion in such a mellow record; it’s an album that soothes your soul. ‘Sexy Boy’ provided them with a bonafide hit, showing that electronic music didn’t need to be bombastic to be successful. Playful, inventive, and innovative, Moon Safari remains the duo’s peak; that’s no sleight on the rest of their work but a testament to the record’s monumental power of melody.